


Silence is Golden

by Kato (WritersCoven)



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF, Queen (Band)
Genre: DayofSilence, Gay, Just drown in my gay, M/M, lots of gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19838323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritersCoven/pseuds/Kato
Summary: “I feel stupid,” Ben muttered, folding his arms across his chest furiously.Joe poked his tongue out at his boyfriend and laughed, “You agreed to do this with me. Besides, you look fantastic.”“I don’t,” Ben pouted, his cheeks blazing, “but thank you.”“You love me too much to wash it off,” Joe smiled, batting his lashes at the blond.Ben’s pout deepened. “Do we really have to go out in public like this?”“Yes,” Joe nodded.“But we look so stupid,” he groaned.Joe narrowed his eyes into a glare. “We’re doing this for a good cause,” he reminded the blond. “We’re doing this for our cause.”~~Bohemian Rhapsody has been put up for an award on the Day of Silence. Joe has the perfect idea to help shine some light on the American movement and what it stands for. Ben isn't too happy about it, but with a little advise from Roger and an impromptu speech, he learns to enjoy it.





	Silence is Golden

**Author's Note:**

> **Hey! So, April 17th was the Day of Silence in America this (2019) year (at least where myself and several other schools that I know of participated in it), and was my last year participating (at least as a student in this school). I started this during the Day of Silence, but it was a lot longer than I initially anticipated and I stalled with getting it all out the way I wanted.**   
>  **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. If you do not know what the Day of Silence is, this is the official website: https://www.glsen.org/day-silence#howtoparticipate**   
>  **Don't forget to comment and kudos, dearies!**
> 
> **Hey, this part of my little note is new! And it's going to be everywhere for a little while: Your beloved Kato was hacked darlings, multiple times! Her stuff was removed, even her pseud deleted, her passwords repeatedly changed. It's been a mess. Someone wants to shut me down! But we aren't going to let that happen, are we darlings? Nope! So,**   
>  **Enjoy the reupload! Kato out! xoxo**

“I feel stupid,” Ben muttered, folding his arms across his chest furiously.

Joe poked his tongue out at his boyfriend and laughed, “You agreed to do this with me. Besides, you look fantastic.”

“I don’t,” Ben pouted, his cheeks blazing, “but thank you.”

“You love me too much to wash it off,” Joe smiled, batting his lashes at the blond.

Ben’s pout deepened. “Do we really have to go out in _public_ like this?”

“Yes,” Joe nodded.

“But we look _so stupid_ ,” he groaned.

Joe narrowed his eyes into a glare. “We’re doing this for a good cause,” he reminded the blond. “We’re doing this for _our_ cause.”

“Things are different,” Ben reminded his boyfriend.

Joe only shook his head. “Different does not mean better.”

“But don’t you think that all this will do is draw more attention to us?”

Joe picked up the small paintbrush and paint once again. “Hush,” he scolded. “We’re going to do this.”

Ben continued to pout as Joe ran the paintbrush over his face, adding small dots and lines. They weren’t near the mirror, so Ben couldn’t actually see what was being painted on his face. It didn’t matter, though. He felt immensely stupid either way.

Joe sat back with a satisfied smile spreading across his cheeks. “You’re perfect,” he beamed. _“Bellissimo.”_

Ben hopped up from the stool with a huff. “Let me see how bad it is,” he groaned as he reached for the small mirror. Joe slapped his hand away.

“Me first,” he stated. “We’re supposed to do the big reveal together.”

“Get in the bloody chair then,” he sighed, motioning towards the stool. Joe hopped into the new spot eagerly and gave Ben a playful smile. “Make me beautiful, Ben. I won’t settle for less.”

Ben lifted the basket of paints and sorted through the colors. He had a few Easter pastels, a full rainbow, and a handful of bright neons. Examining the brunette, Ben decided to go with the rainbow. He pulled the six containers of paint forward and opened each of them, then dipped the brush into a cup of water to wet it.

“Are you doing the flag?” Joe wondered.

“You’ll see,” answered the blond. “Close your eyes.”

“Please don’t paint my eyes. This stuff itches.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Ben scowled. He wanted to scratch away all of the paint slowly beginning to dry on his face. “I’m not going to paint your eyes.”

“So why do I need to close them?”

“Because I’m going to be painting _around_ them. The more questions you ask, the longer this is going to take.”

The front door to their newly-shared flat opened. Joe started to turn in the direction of the door, but Ben grabbed the man’s chin and pushed him back. Something cold and wet pressed against Joe’s cheek as Ben began to paint small, horizontal stripes.

“It’s the flag, isn’t it?” Joe smirked.

From the doorway of the room, Gwilym confirmed Joe’s guess. “It’s the pride flag.”

“Thanks for ruining it, Gwil.” Ben glared. “Now I’ll have to change it. It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“Don’t change it!” exclaimed Joe. “I still haven’t seen it or anything.”

“But you know what the flag looks like,” Ben pointed out. “So you know what this is going to look like.” He put down the paintbrush and reached for one of the many napkins they had bought for today.

“Please don’t,” Joe begged, making Ben sigh.

“At least act surprised, okay?”

“Done,” Joe smiled.

Gwilym grabbed a chair from the dining room and returned to his best friends, dropping the seat next to Joe. He made sure that the back of the chair was facing the couple, and then he straddled the chair and put his arms over the back to rest his head on.

“Someone want to do me?” he asked.

Ben glanced up at Gwilym. “I thought you and Rami were doing it too?” He was going to be royally pissed if they bailed on him and Joe.

There happened to be an awards ceremony on the Day of Silence, and _Bohemian Rhapsody_ was among those nominated. It took a great deal of convincing on Joe’s part, but in the end everyone agreed to participate in the day.

Joe’s thought process had been that if they won, and somebody had to go up on stage, their silence would speak volumes. He hoped that the world would see them all and think about the cause behind the action.

“He’s sleeping in,” Gwilym explained. “He had a late flight in.”

“So you guys aren’t doing it?” Joe asked, barely moving his lips in fear of messing Ben up. The sadness could still be heard perfectly in his voice.

Gwilym shook his head, even though he knew that Joe couldn’t see him. “We’re still participating. I have to paint Rami on our way out the door, though. I really don’t want to try doing my own.”

“We’ve got you,” Joe responded.

Ben nodded as well. “Yeah, just let me finish Joe first.”

“Damn,” Gwilym said, glancing at Joe’s face. Half of his cheek had been turned into the pride flag. “Looking really fucking good, Ben.”

“Thanks.”

Ben shifted to the other cheek and started all over again. His own face was driving him absolutely crazy, and he wanted to wash it off. He promised Joe, though. He said that he would stand by his boyfriend, and he would.

“It doesn’t feel like I thought it would,” Joe giggled.

“Does it burn?” Ben asked. When Joe shook his head, the blond laughed, “It will. My face is on fire.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Joe stated. He opened his eyes in mild alarm, but Ben was currently working directly under Joe’s eye. As Joe shut his eyes again, he asked, “Are you allergic to anything?”

“Don’t think so.”

Gwilym sat up. “Relax, Joe. He looks fine. Look, his skin’s not even red.”

“Maybe we should take it off,” suggested the brunette.

“It’s fine, Joe,” Ben stated. “Don’t be such a mother hen. Okay, you’re done.”

Ben sat back so that Joe could get off of the stool. As he rose to his feet, Joe asked, “Do you want to reveal first? Or do Gwil and then reveal?”

“Let’s just do Gwil,” Ben answered.

Gwilym looked back and forth between his two friends. “You guys really don’t have to--”

“Just sit your ass down and let us do it,” Joe commanded.

“Actually--” Ben shifted and lurched to his feet. “I actually think I’m going to see who we can round up. Why don’t you go ahead and do it?”

Joe was already picking up the brush. “Alright.”

While Joe spread the paint over Gwilym’s face, Ben went into the kitchen with his cell. He knew that Rami was asleep, but they were getting close to needing to leave. He dialled Rami’s number, hoping the man would pick up.

At first, it didn’t seem like he was going to. It was only on the last ring that Rami’s groggy voice responded, “Hello?”

“Hey! Are you getting ready yet?”

There was a silent pause as Rami processed what was going on. “I just woke up.”

“I figured,” Ben responded. “We’ve got about twenty more minutes and then we need to go.”

“Yeah, okay,” Rami yawned. Ben could hear the bed shifting in the background. “I’ll start getting ready.”

“We’ll come by to get you in about fifteen or so.”

“Hey--” Rami started, finally noticing. “Is Gwil with you?”

“Yeah. Joe’s painting his face right now.”

“Shit. I forgot about that.”

“Gwil’ll get you in the car. Just get ready. We’re leaving when Gwil’s done.”

Rami hung up, and Ben sighed. The paint had dried now, but his face still felt like a mess. He gingerly tapped the warm skin.

“Ben!” Joe shouted. “Let’s do the reveal! We’ve got to go!”

“I’m coming,” he sighed. He grabbed his phone and quickly administered it into his pocket, and then he returned to his boyfriend.

* * * * *

“You look great, Ben.”

“I doubt anyone’s even going to look at you.”

“We want them to look, Rami. Remember?”

Ben was sitting with his arms folded across his chest once again, pouting more than ever. He was shooting daggers out the car window. “I can’t believe you talked me into doing this.”

“Hey, we’re all doing it,” Rami stated. His face was covered in red, blue, and yellow hearts. Apparently, hearts were the only thing that Gwilym knew how to paint.

“Do you think Brian and Roger actually did it?”

“They said they would when I asked them.”

“Brian said he would,” Ben interjected. “Roger glared at you like he wanted to kill you.”

“I took that as agreement.”

They were pulling into the lot now. Men in traffic control uniforms were directing them to a parking space, and then rushing them out of the vehicle. A new set of staff led them into the building.

“Do you see them?” Joe asked, craning his neck to see over the crowd.

“Is that them over there?”

Ben didn’t look when everyone else did. His eyes were fixed to the ground. Apparently, it must have been them, because the group fell into a silent migration. Ben followed.

Brian didn’t seem to mind the face paint. He just had a giant _X_ on either cheek, very similar to Ben’s appearance. Roger, on the other hand, was scowling. Brian must have painted for Roger, because his entire face was a flag. It looked hilarious.

Silence officially began, and nobody uttered a word as they found their table. Even at their seats, Ben refused to face the crowd. Joe kept elbowing his blond boyfriend, but even this wasn’t enough to get Ben to look up.

They were sitting in a large circle, everyone next to their significant other. Brian sat next to Roger, who was next to Ben. On Ben’s other side, of course, was Joe, who also sat next to Rami. Gwilym, between Rami and Brian, completed the circle.

A folded paper fell into Ben’s lap. At first, he thought the paper had come from Joe, but when he stole a quick glance up at his boyfriend, he found Joe attempting-- and very horribly failing-- to have a signed conversation with Gwilym. It looked more like a horrible game of charades than a conversation, and both men looked extremely confused and entirely focused on one another.

Turning back to the note, Ben unfolded it and skimmed it over. In purple ink, it said:

_Smile, even if you have to fake it. You’re still young. Let me give you a piece of advice that’ll do you an awful lot of good. When you love somebody as much as you and Joe, you do anything to keep them happy-- even at the cost of your own happiness._

Ben looked up. Roger was writing back and forth with Brian, and in his hand was a purple ink pen. He was smiling, if only faintly. Ben turned back to Joe, who was still miming some story or another to Gwilym. Ben reached up and took one of Joe’s hands, effectively ending the conversation as he planted a kiss on the back of his boyfriend’s hand.

The ceremony was starting. The lights were dimming, and small lightbulbs in the shape of tiny candles flickered on. The stage, previously concealed behind a thick curtain, opened up to reveal a starry background and a large podium. A woman opened the ceremony-- nobody famous or rich, not that Ben knew about anyway-- and a hush fell over the room.

The categories were exclusive to the arts. All awards were focused on either music, movies, or writing. Ben acted polite throughout the music and writing sections, but he really wasn’t paying attention. He was holding his breath for the movies.

_Bohemian Rhapsody_ was old, by film standards. Awards should have long-ended by this point. The fact that it had been nominated at all was a real miracle. Nobody expected it to actually win-- not even Joe, who had decided on participating in the silence because he wanted to stand silent at the podium. No one thought that that was going to happen, which was why when the film got called it took them all a moment to stand up.

Even Brian and Roger walked up the stage.

“Congratulations,” the woman said as she held out the trophy. “Do you guys have anything you want to say for your fans?”

It occurred to Ben that there was a decent chance their silence would be misunderstood. People wouldn’t like what they were doing.

Nobody said anything. This idea-- this plan of sorts-- had been Joe’s baby. They were all waiting on him to make his move. Ben’s eyes wanted to return back to the floor, but he thought about what Roger had said and held his head up high.

“Did you guys know you were going to win? Is that what all of this is?” asked the woman.

Joe shook his head. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a creased paper and unfolded it. He handed it off to the woman, and the rest of the group watched anxiously. They all knew that everyone’s eyes were on them. This would become newsworthy. It would spread across the internet like virtual wildfire.

The woman gave them an odd look, but took the paper. Leaning into the microphone, she read, “Today is the Day of Silence, a nation-wide movement in America which should be spread globally. It is standing up for students in school systems across America who are bullied for being a part of the LBGT community. We are all staying silent right alongside of the students participating today. We are fighting for a better future for this community, right there with the kids walking the hallways silently. Today, we remain completely mute.”

Joe nodded right alongside the reading of the note, and Ben bit back a groan. Sure, the message was wonderful and all, but he forgot to add a quick thank you for winning or anything. The blond glanced to Roger, who still had his pen and paper sticking out of a pocket. Quickly, Ben motioned to the paper and snapped his fingers, prompting Roger to hand both over.

As Ben scribbled furiously, all eyes suddenly shifted from Joe to him. It _was_ Joe’s baby after all. Ben was distracting from whatever message Joe had been trying to get across.

Ben handed the paper to the woman, who proceeded to read into the mic once again. “We are beyond grateful for such an amazing award, and to have such loving and dedicated fans. We could not have done any of this without any of them. We regret that we are not able to give them this message ourselves, but we are standing for a cause we all believe in so firmly. We thank you all for this honor, and for understanding. Goodnight, everyone!”

This time, the reading was not met with silence, but with applause. Cheers filled the building, ringing loud enough to echo in their ears as the group made their way off the stage and back to their table. They all took their seats in continued silence. Ben never dropped his gaze, not even when he saw whole tables turn to face them. He smiled and waved, right alongside everyone else at their table, proud of what he was doing. Proud of what _they_ were doing.

* * * * *

Ben went home that night with a feeling of accomplishment. After saying their nonverbal goodbyes to Brian and Roger, the boys packed back inside of their vehicle and returned to the so-dubbed _Hardzzello Flat_ , where Rami and Gwilym gave exhausted waves and headed back to Gwilym’s place. Ben followed his boyfriend inside and collapsed on the couch.

Joe broke silence first. “You need to wash that off your face before you fall asleep.”

Ben looked over towards Joe’s voice. The brunette was scrubbing a wet washcloth over his own face, scrubbing away the paint. When he noticed his boyfriend looking, he tossed a pack of face wipes into Ben’s lap.

Ben opened the package and pulled out one of the wipes. “Thanks,” he muttered, scrubbing at his cheeks. “You know, I think I might be allergic to this stuff after all.”

Joe took a step closer and examined Ben’s face. “You’re a little red,” he pointed out.

“It still burns a bit.”

“We’ll just have to keep an eye on it.” Joe dropped the washcloth down on the table and knelt down in front of Ben, taking the pack of wipes and beginning to wipe away the paint for the blond.

“I can’t believe we actually won,” Ben muttered around the wipe.

Joe nodded. “I can’t believe we actually did it. And your little impromptu speech was amazing.”

“It was nothing.”

“It got the room cheering,” Joe stated.

“Yeah, okay,” Ben laughed. “Maybe it was something.”

“You know what else is something?” Joe asked, pulling back and setting the wipes aside. Ben’s face was now paint-free. Small splotches of bright pink dotted his face, and the skin around each dot was a furious red. He was definitely having a reaction to the paint.

“What?” Ben asked.

Leaning in, Joe whispered, “This,” before bending down and kissing Ben sweetly. He cupped his fingers over the blond’s face and brushed up into the sides of the man’s hair. “Us.”

When they broke away, Ben nodded. “Yeah, that is something.”

“Something truly wonderful.”

“You don’t even know,” Ben laughed, scratching his fingers across the irritated rash on his cheeks.

“Hey,” Joe scolded, “stop that. I’ll get some cream for tonight, and we’ll see about a doctor tomorrow.”

As Joe walked away to find something to soothe the itching, Ben watched. He called softly, “I love you.”

Joe smiled. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> **I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you for reading, and remember to comment and kudos!**   
>  **And remember, I made a new collections/series for these types of things, rather than having them loosely hanging around on my account as I had previously done, called Misfits. I accept prompts for the Misfits category if there's anything you might want to see ^_^ Feel free to ask!**
> 
> **Hey, this part of my little note is new! And it's going to be everywhere for a little while: Your beloved Kato was hacked darlings, multiple times! Her stuff was removed, even her pseud deleted, her passwords repeatedly changed. It's been a mess. Someone wants to shut me down! But we aren't going to let that happen, are we darlings? Nope! So,**   
>  **Enjoy the reupload! Kato out! xoxo**


End file.
